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Football

02nd Sep 2018

Graeme Souness goes all ‘yer da’ in latest attack on Paul Pogba

Wayne Farry

Graeme Souness

There are few total certainties in this world of ours

Our universe is a confusing and often terrifyingly unstable place, and as such there are occasional certainties, rational and logical definitives, that ground us. One is that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, another is that Graeme Souness seriously dislikes Paul Pogba, almost to a degree that it makes one uncomfortable.

Since Pogba returned to Old Trafford from Juventus, Souness has seemed intent on criticising him at every opportunity using his position as a pundit on Sky Sports’ football coverage.

While some of the criticism has certainly been valid, much of it has not and often Souness is left looking like something of an archaic figure, raging not so much at Pogba but at the unfairness of the world itself. Pogba is just a conduit for that rage.

His latest critique is certainly closer to the latter, as Souness accuses Pogba – who despite two league goals has been disappointing for a struggling United side this season – of only being concerned about how “cool he looks”. Yep. He actually said that.

“Paul Pogba plays for himself, it’s all about how cool he looks, showing us how clever he is. I reckon Pogba’s only in the team to maintain his transfer value until United can sell him, because he doesn’t merit his place for any other reason,” he told the Sunday Times in a statement so utterly weird that it’s almost hard to fathom. If you didn’t know any better you’d swear that Pogba had personally wronged Souness, or that Souness just really doesn’t like something about the Frenchman.

“Perhaps we’re now seeing the selfish player Fergie didn’t fancy the first time round?” he then added, about the “selfish” player who realised his time at Manchester United was up when Rafael was selected ahead of him in midfield against Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Eve of 2011, something we’re sure Souness is aware of.